Why Parents Are Furious With This Amazon Christmas Ad

They claim the ad forces them to have a tough conversation with their kids about Santa.

A new Christmas commercial from Amazon has parents furious, as they believe the ad reveals to kids that Santa Claus is actually just mom and dad. The commercial, which aired only in the United Kingdom, features a dad sneaking a bunch of packages from Amazon ⏤ all in cardboard boxes, mind you ⏤ past his unsuspecting kids in order to hide them until Christmas. Innocent enough, you would think. Except, of course, not. Some hypersensitive parents felt the plot tips kids off that their Christmas presents aren’t actually delivered by a man on a reindeer.

One parent wrote to The Sun: “So, it’s Amazon that delivers Christmas is it? Disgusting that kids who believe in Santa are shown their dad running about with Amazon presents. This kills Christmas.”

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Other parents were quick to follow, sharing their frustration with the way the ad seemed to imply that presents come from parents instead of Kris Kringle. One particularly outraged mom claimed that the ad caused her child to ask if the man in the commercial hiding gifts was Santa, but was unclear as to whether she was quick enough on her feet to explain that, low and behold, other packages do arrive during the holidays that aren’t gifts. Obviously, for a lot of parents, Kris Kringle represents the imagination and wonderment that many children enjoy during the holidays. And, naturally, they get upset at the thought of their kids growing up too quickly. But, good Lord, it’s not like Amazon ran a 30-second spot that screamed, “Santa Clause isn’t real, kids! We ARE Santa Clause” over and over.

When asked to comment on the surprisingly controversial commercial, a spokesperson from Amazon assured parents that the ad is not undermining Santa Claus. “Father Christmas and his elves are no doubt working around the clock to get presents to girls and boys around the world,” they said, presumably with an emphatic eye-roll. “These are just a few extra to give a little love from parents.”